Avalanche
by Karlei Shaynner
Summary: Johnny and Dally are alive . Darry earns an all expense paid two week vacation for himself and the gang. They head to Alaska where Soda, Dally, Two-Bit and their new friend find themselves in a dangerous situation. Will they make it out alive?
1. Where should we go?

Avalanche

Disclaimer: Unfortunately, I do not own any of the Outsiders. I do, however, own Tayin who will appear later on.

Enjoy!

Chapter 1: Where Should We Go?

Darry's POV

I was getting ready to head home after a very long day at work when Bob, my boss, came up to me.

"So Darrel, are you ready for your well deserved summer vacation?" he asked.

I nodded my head vigorously, "Yea, it will be nice to have a week off."

"Darrel, I have to tell you that you are, by far, my best worker, and every year during the summer I like to give my best worker something to make their holidays more enjoyable."

I gave him a weird look, and he continued with a grin, "An all expense paid trip to anywhere you want to go. For you and your whole family. For two weeks."

"Two weeks? For me and my whole family?" I was skeptical.

"I'm serious!" he assured me. I started walking toward my the parking lot and he followed beside me, "And I know it's just you and your two brothers, so why don't you take your friends along as well."

I stopped at my truck and turned to him, "I don't know what to say."

"Say, 'Alright. See you in two weeks.'" He laughed, as he handed me a card, "This card can be used for anything. Gas, clothes, food... you get the idea, and it can used almost anywhere." He waved as he walked toward his car and I waved back, still stunned. As I opened the rusty door I heard him call, "And for Pete's sake, Darrel, have some fun!"

I got home in a daze. The guys would be excited, for sure. Where should we go?

"Hey, Darry." Soda called sleepily from the couch. He had been working really hard this last month. Maybe longer, maybe even harder than me. One of the guys at the DX had quit and Soda took his shift, as well as his own. I had told him not to, but he put up a good argument. His boss was cool, though and gave him the next two weeks off for summer vacation. How very convenient.

"How are you doing, Pepsi-Cola?"

"Good," he lied, he was obviously tired. I realized this vacation would do us all good.

"Hey, Darry." Pony called as he entered the room with his plate full of blue macaroni, pink hot dogs, and purple hot dog buns. Pony cooked odd colored food? That was Soda's job. He saw my expression and nodded his head toward, a now sleeping, Soda. I nodded my head, Soda had made it. That made more sense. But, if Soda made it, it had to be good.

The rest of the guys filed out of the kitchen with their mouths already full of food so they just nodded their heads 'hi' at me.

I decided to wait until Soda woke up to tell the guys about the trip. I was surprised he was able to sleep with all of the noise the guys were making, and it was a couple of hours later before he opened his eyes.

"So," I started, while Soda ate his warmed up supper, "I have some news." I told them about the vacation and was met with a bunch of blank stares. They didn't believe me. It took a lot of convincing but finally they came around.

"Sweet! Let's go to Disneyland!" Two-Bit stood up and started to run towards the door to pack for Disneyland.

"Stop!" Dally yelled, "Let's go to Vegas." All of the guys called out their choices except Soda who remained oddly quiet.

"What do you think?" I asked him above the various shouts of 'Hawaii,' 'Mexico,' 'New York'. I hoped that he wouldn't say Florida to see Sandy.

"I think you should decide, Dar. You deserve it." He said, and I grinned at him.

"Well," I admitted, "I've always wanted to see snow." The guys actually agreed with me.

"So, how does Alaska sound?"

A/N That's it for chapter one. Hopefully you guys like it. It might not all make sense or be true, but it's fan fiction so just pretend, kay? Please review.


	2. The Long Flight

A/N: There are no words to describe my neglect to my stories. I have recently been re-addicted to fan fiction, and have started reviewing my stories, including this one. I was saddened by the fact that I left this story unfinished, barely started, when I had a really great direction I was taking it. Re-reading my stories, this one in particular, I felt the need to continue to take these stories where I had once envisioned them to go. It will be hard to keep motivated after so long, and perhaps all interest is lost and it is pointless to continue. Let me know how you feel. Hopefully this chapter sparks some excitement for my faithful readers and possibly some new ones as well. I will probably continue one story at a time so it is not too overwhelming for me. For now I will post this chapter, gage the response, and depending on that response, decide if I want to continue or not. Sorry for the long a/n, hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Okay, big breath, and here it goes, enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still do not own the Outsiders, however I do enjoy forcing them to do as I wish... muwahahaha! I do own the plane, the flight staff and the other passangers.

Chapter 2: The Long Flight

Darry's POV

We managed to get flights for the very next day. Apparently Alaska isn't the most popular place to travel. We finished packing in record time and boarded our flight early in the morning. I decided to use the flight to catch up on some much needed rest and was glad that I had the aisle to myself. I tried to tune out the rest of the gang but constantly found myself having to shoot apologetic glances at the rest of the passengers. This was going to be a long flight.

Dally's POV

Of all of the seats mine had to be the one beside Two-Bit. I liked the guy and all but sometimes he can be a bit over the top.

"Glory Dal," he started, "I ain't even ever flown before. Not in my whole life."

"Me either, man. Cool it will ya?" He was hopin' up and down in his seat and the flight attendant had to ask him three times to buckle up.

She was cute too: blonde hair, and a smokin' hot body. She didn't look at me kindly though. Probably thought I looked like some sorta tuff hood. Yea, she was right but I thought chicks dug bad guys?

Finally we took off and that did not help the Two-Bit situation at all. He was talkin' real loud like and scarin' the other people on the plane. I don't think they were scared of the plane going down, but of Two-Bit himself.

"Oh dear mighty mouse of Mickey, please let me land in Alaska with all of my fingers and thumbs," his voice was shakin' with each word, "Please let the giant plane land on the ground soft like."

I ignored him and looked around for the hot flight attendant. She was going down the aisles takin' people's drink orders, and was almost to my seat. I decided to play it cool, and stared at the seat in front of me until she tried to get my attention.

I turned to her and looked her up and down real slow. Man was she fine.

"Yea, get me a beer, doll."

She smiled at me; I knew she would come around. I put on my biggest grin and added, "and whatever else you're offering."

She didn't bother asking Two-Bit who had since the seatbelt sign had gone off, was kneelin' on the floor in front of his seat, with his eyes closed and hands folded in front of him like a tee-pee. It was a good thing we had the huge emergency aisle section, well good and bad, because that would mean we would need Two-Bit to help everybody off the plane if it went down and even his Mickey god had no faith in him there. This was going to be a long flight.

Pony's POV

I was sittin' by Johnny and was glad for two reasons: 1. Johnny is my best bud and 2. I didn't want to sit beside Two-Bit or Dally, who oddly enough were sitting beside each other. Too funny.

I gave Johnny the window seat but had been leaning over and looking out the window with him. It was neat to see the clouds and all of the sights from the plane. I was hoping to see the sunset on the late flight back home. I was about to share my thoughts with Johnny when the seat belt light came on and the captain's voice came over the intercom and said we would be experiencing some turbulence.

As I did up my seatbelt everything happened at once.

"What crap is this?" Dally screamed at the pretty flight attendant.

"Root beer." She replied calmly.

"I didn't ask for root beer, I asked for beer." His voice only got louder and angrier.

"Well then, can I see your id?" she asked in the same calm manner, not losing her cool even one bit.

"Yea, you can see my id." He pulled out his fake id and handed it to her, "If you wanted to know where I live you could just ask. You are welcome anytime. I make a great breakfast." He lit up and cigarette and took a huge puff.

"Sir, this is a fake id and you can not smoke on this or any other flight," She pointed to the no smoking sign before adding, "and I would not come to your house if it were a mansion on the beach."

Dally looked livid as he stood up, having ignored the message to re-fasten his seatbelt, and blew a huge puff of smoke right in her face.

She grabbed the cigarette out of his hand, put it out on the drink cart, broke it into pieces and threw it at him, "Now sit down, fasten your seatbelt and I don't want to hear a peep out of you for the rest of the flight. Otherwise we will land this plane in the next town and you will be escorted off in handcuffs." Without missing a beat she turned around to face Johnny and I who were in the seat across from Dally and handed us our Pepsi's with a friendly smile and moved on.

Dally was angry but had done what she'd asked, save a few curses under his breath.

Then we hit some turbulence.

"No!" Two-Bit screamed, "Please Mighty Mouse fly this plane to safety…" This was going to be a long flight.

Soda's POV

The plane was shakin' somethin' fierce. I had Stevie beside me, and Pony and Johnny were in the seats behind us. We had been playin' poker on the fold out tray but had to flip it back up when we had to re-fasten our seats. Now I was bored. I started to bounce up and down in my seat.

"Steve, how much longer?" I whined.

"I dunno, man." He gave me a strange look, "Do you have to pee or something?"

"No, well now I do. I am so bored." He laughed at me. This was going to be a long flight.

A/N: So what do you think? Let me know if you think I should continue or just scrap it! Thanks!


	3. Sneakin' Out

Disclaimer: I still do not own the Outsiders, but it would be nice to share custody though. Hmm…

I also do not own Oscar the grouch or Santa. 

Enjoy!

Chapter 3: Sneakin' Out

Two-Bit's POV

We finally landed in Alaska sometime in the afternoon. When we were allowed to unbuckle I rushed to the front of the plane so that I could be the first one off.

As soon as the door opened I ran down the stairs and got to my knees and started to kiss the snow-covered ground. The people behind me started to get angry because I guess I was in their way or somethin'.

I heard Dally yelling at me to, "Man up and move my ass." Didn't he realize he was embarrassing himself?

Eventually a security guy had to come and help me to my feet. My knees were like jello as I walked to the building with the help of the security guy. I never thought we would make it to Alaska in one piece.

The other passengers that passed by us shot me dirty looks, "You should be thankin' me!" I yelled after them, "If it weren't for me and Mighty Mouse we would have crashed and then none of you could meet Santa!"

"Uh, Two-Bit," Soda said, I jumped because I didn't know that the gang had come up behind me, "What do you mean: meet Santa?"

I shook my head in pity, he really wasn't the smartest cookie in the jar, "That's why we're here Sodapop. To meet Santa." I said this as though I were speaking to a child. Real slow like.

"There is no Santa Two-Bit. And even if there was he lives in the North Pole, not Alaska." Dally fibbed.

"Just because the hot flight waitress turned you down doesn't mean that you have to go makin' up lies and ruin everybody else's day." I shook my head at him. I mean, no Santa. Come on! Who does he think he's fooling? Who would make the list and check it twice?

"Anyway," Darry was looking at me like I had two heads, but that couldn't be right, he must really be looking at Dally, "We should catch a cab to our hotel so that we can order in some supper and go to bed." It was only then I noticed that we had all of our luggage and were outside. When did that happen?

"Bed?" Soda, and Steve said, clearly shocked. Soda looked like Darry had kicked a puppy. Just then the van cab that Dally had hailed pulled up and we loaded the bags in the back and climbed in.

"The Igloo Inn," Darry told the driver, and then turned to Soda and Steve, "Yes, bed. We went to bed late, woke up early and had a long flight."

"But we're on vacation, Darry." Pony whined.

"Which is why we'll have plenty of time, two whole weeks, to have fun. You'll thank me in the morning." Darry looked at Soda who was about to protest and added, "And that's final!"

"I hope I don't have to share a room with Oscar the grouch." I said quietly to Steve who was beside me. Darry shot me an annoyed look; I guess I wasn't as quiet as I thought. This was going to be a long cab ride.

Steve's POV

We got settled in our hotel room, which was really more like an apartment. It had a main living area, a kitchen, and three bedrooms. Darry had a room to himself, no surprise there; Pony and Soda were sharing a room with a queen bed; I had been hopin' to share the room with two double beds with Soda. Why did Pony have to hog him all the time? They lived together for Pete's sake!

Two-Bit and Johnny were sharing the room with the double beds; Dally refused to share with Two-Bit after sittin' beside him the whole plane ride. He also refused to sit beside him on the ride home.

Which left Dally and me to share the hide-a-bed in the living area. This way gonna be fun. Not.

We had pizza for supper and afterwards Dally, Soda, Two-Bit and I played some poker. Darry was readin' the local paper that had been provided, and Johnny and Pony were watchin' some movie on TV.

It didn't take long for the jet leg to set in, and soon Johnny, Darry and Ponyboy went to bed. I was the next to really feel the affects of the long day, and also I was the first to lose in poker, so I pulled the bed out of the couch and crawled in.

Just before I dozed of I heard Soda callin' me.

"What?" I asked annoyed.

"We are gonna take a walk around outside, check out some sights and stuff. You wanna come?"

"No I wanna sleep." I turned to face the other way so that he would get the hint.

"Ok, well see you in the mornin' then." He whispered. I just grunted in reply.

I heard their voices for a minute or two more and then was finally rewarded with silence. I let out a sigh of relief. It had been a long day.

A/N So what do you think? We will be meeting a new character in the next chapter. Hopefully will write and post it tomorrow. Please review! Constructive criticism welcome and appreciated…


	4. Where Are We Anyway?

A/N Thank-you everyone for the reviews, it makes it so much easier to write and update when you post such great comments! Just a quick FYI: I plan on going back and making a few slight changes to chapter 1, but nothing major that is going to effect the story. I am not too happy with how it is right now. I don't know when I will do it but I will let you know once I have so you can go re-read it if you want to. But like I said it won't be anything major, mostly changing some wording and hopefully make it sound a little less far-fetched.

Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders, but I do own Tayin!

Chapter 4: Where Are We Anyway?

Dally's POV

Everyone else had gone to bed but Soda, Two-Bit and I were still to wound up to sleep. We decided to go for a walk and check out the town. We had to be pretty sneaky because Darry would flip his lid if he knew we were wandering around an unfamiliar town in the middle of the night.

It was dark and chilly out and none of us were wearin' very warm jackets, but I didn't care, I was tuff enough. We walked through the small town for a while; I didn't even know the name of it. Soon we had reached the end and entered the woods.

"I think I read about this place." Two-Bit was lookin' around like we were gonna get jumped.

"You read?" I laughed.

"Well it was on TV," and then he quietly added, "there are these snow elves that live in the forest. They are tiny, even smaller then regular elves. But they do not help Santa in his workshop, instead they wait for people to walk through their forest and then they surround them and tackle them and drag them to their houses where they…" he suddenly stopped talking. Finally. He looked like he was concentrating on something, and then I heard it.

A loud noise coming from almost right behind us and getting closer, "Snow elves!" Two-Bit screamed and we all started runnin' as fast as we could.

Soda's POV

We ran in no certain direction for what seemed like days until I tripped over a root stickin' out of the ground. It was good timin' though because we were all tired. Dally and Two-Bit were actually hunched over tryin' to catch their breath.

I flipped onto my back, propped myself up on my hands and stared up at them, "Well howdy Dal," I grinned, "Have a seat." I patted the spot next to me. Two-Bit took it graciously. Dally looked at us like we were nuts.

"Snow elves?" he gasped, "Really?"

"Hey you ran too." I pointed out.

"Only so you fools wouldn't get lost."

"Ok great. Thanks Dally. So where are we anyway?" I asked looking around.

"How the hell should I know?" he looked disgusted.

"Well let's get out of the forest for starters," Two-Bit was lookin' around nervous about the "snow elves" findin' us again. We stood up and started walkin' hopefully towards where we came from, but who really knows?

Eventually we came across a path and started followin' that, hopin' it would lead us back into town.

No such luck. It lead us to a huge clearin' of some sort.

"Huh," I thought aloud. It was so cold I could see my breath, "I think we're lost."

"Don't worry," Two-Bit smiled, "I was watchin' TV and there are these elves that…"

Dally cut him off, "Shut up! I've heard enough of your stupid little elf stories! It's your fault we're here in the first place!"

"Ok cool it Dal. We can't change that we're here, let's just walk around 'til we find another path. There's got to be one that lead's back into town." I stood in between my two friends, the last thing we needed was to start goin' off in different directions.

"Whatever." Dally looked like he was about to add somethin' else but then we heard a noise.

Two-Bit's POV

It sounded like someone was hollerin' from the forest.

"Hello!" I yelled.

Sure enough someone replied, "Is someone there?"

"Yea! We're in some sorta clearin'!" Soda yelled.

After a few minutes of followin' our voices a figure emerged from the trees.

Now that we were out of the forest and away from the lights of town we had the light of the full moon and the stars to actually see for quite a distance. The voice belonged to a guy about Soda and Steve's age; he had jet-black hair peaking out from under a twilight blue toque, the colour matched his eyes. He was just a tad shorter than Soda and was wearin' a jacket that was about the same thickness as ours, which was not very warm at all.

"Thanks," he grinned, and I noticed he had a dimple on one cheek. Even in the moonlight I could tell he was someone that girls would find very attractive. If he lived in Tulsa, Soda would have some tough competition, "I was walkin' in the forest and I guess I got turned around. I feel like I have been walkin' in there for hours."

"Snow elves," I nodded my head in understanding and was rudely interrupted by Dally.

"Ignore him," he advised, "We do."

I was about to defend myself and was cut off again this time by Soda.

"I'm Sodapop, but you can call me Soda, this here is Two-Bit, and Dally." he had pointed to us as he said our names.

"Well it's nice to finally get out of there. Thanks again. I'm Tayin." I could see that he was shakin' quite a bit in the cold and only realized then that Soda, Dally and I were too.

"So where'd you come from Tayin?" Dally asked with a hint of suspicion in his voice.

"My brother's place, and well now mine too, I guess. It's a couple of minutes out of Sparing."

"That's the town we're staying in." Soda looked pleased, "Do you recognize this clearing?"

"No sorry, I just moved here about a week ago so I'm not too familiar with the area. So you said the town that you're staying in, I take it you aren't from around here either."

"No," I was finally able to get a word in, "We live in Tulsa, and just flew in this afternoon. We're here on vacation."

"Here?" his eyebrows shot up in surprise, "Really? Why?"

"We wanted to see snow, and we heard there were a lot of great sights to see around here." Soda grinned.

"Oh, yea. I heard that too. I haven't had much of an opportunity to go sight seeing yet or anything. Moving takes a lot of time."

"So why'd you move here?" Dally asked. He was tryin' to look tuff by smokin' and probably trying to intimidate the poor guy.

"Long story," Tayin mumbled, "So which direction do you think we should try?"

After a couple of minutes of discussing some options we ended up choosing a direction by me spinning around with my eyes closed and then stoppin' suddenly while pointing. Actually we didn't do that. That was _my_ idea, but they thought we should choose what looked like the most traveled on path. I still think my way would've worked better though, or at least it would have been funner*. As long as it lead back into town and got us out of the forest and away from the snow elves faster I wasn't gonna complain.

A/N: Well that's it for this chapter. I hope that you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. I would have liked to add more to it, it doesn't feel finished, but it is getting late so I am going to bed instead. I will still post it tonight so that I at least keep my promise of updating. Hopefully I will get another chapter up soon, but it will be the weekend so I make no promises!

*I realize that this is not a word, but it is from Two-Bit's POV


	5. So Far Away

A/N Wow! So far I am very disappointed. No reviews on my last chapter yet. Not even one. **Sigh**. I guess I can't really complain: I am really bad at leaving reviews as well, but it is still very disheartening. I will post this chapter because I am really getting into writing this story and some action is going to be happening soon. However, if I don't get a lot of reviews I will probably not post any more; it's not worth the disappointment.

As always Enjoy, and if you like and want to see more please REVIEW!

Disclaimer: Still don't own. Still want to. I do own Tayin, a copy of the Outsiders book, VHS tape, and two DVD's (I bought the regular one and then they came out with the deleted scenes).

Chapter 5: So Far Away

Soda's POV:

We had been walking down the path for a while talking back and forth. Dally still seemed unsure about Tayin, and had been unusually quiet.

Finally Dally said what was on his mind, "So why exactly were you walkin' around the forest in the middle of the night?"

Tayin seemed to turn a little redder then he already was from the cold, "I haven't had the easiest time getting to sleep here. It just hasn't felt right to me yet. I thought I would try going for a walk, and the forest is right behind our house. It seemed as good an idea as any, at the time.

"I thought that since I had walked around it a bit during the day that I wouldn't have too much of an issue finding my way around, as long as I stuck close. But it was a little bit too easy to get turned around in here and it didn't take long to realize I was lost. What about you guys?"

Dally seemed to accept this response and looked like he was a little more relaxed.

Two-Bit grinned at Tayin and was the first to reply, "We wanted to check out the town. Our other friends were tired from the plane ride and went to bed. The town's kinda small and we just kinda ended up in the forest, and then we heard a noise and the snow…"

Dally cut him off, "That's pretty much it."

"It was probably a rabbit."

"What?" I asked.

"The noise, it was probably a rabbit. There are a lot of them around here and they have burrows in the forest. They make more noise then you would expect, stepping on fallen branches and whatnot. I saw a couple before I ran into you guys." Tayin explained. That made a lot more since then "snow elves". Two-Bit didn't looked convinced but didn't press the matter.

Dally's POV:

I was a little bit suspicious of Tayin at first. I mean who walks around the forest in the middle of the night? I mean we were but why would anyone else. His story seemed to make since though, and he seemed like an ok kid.

We had been walking for a long time before we finally saw some light from between the trees. We had hoped that it was the lights from town shining through and were disappointed when we emerged from the trees and realized that it was only the moonlight again.

It wasn't a clearing at least. It was an end of the forest but there was nothing around for as far as we could see, except a drop off of some sort.

Upon a closer look at the drop off we discovered that we were atop of what looked like a mountain. The way down was steep and, like everything else in this stupid place, covered in snow. The bottom looked like there were huge rocks underneath the snow. It seemed like certain death if one was to fall off the edge. We must have all been thinkin' the same thing, because we took a giant step back in unison.

"Now what?" I snapped.

"I heard about this place." Tayin said, but instead of looking relieved he looked even more upset.

"So that's good, right? You know where we are now?" Two-Bit looked hopeful.

"Not really. If this is what I think it is we are a long ways from town… I just don't understand how we got so far…" he looked distraught.

"How far from town, Tayin?" Soda asked.

"An hours walk easily. Possibly two. And I still don't know which way it is. I've never been here, just heard of it. It's called Mount Freed*, it's a common tourist attraction. My brother was going to take me here in a couple of weeks. I guess it looks amazing in the light…" his voice trailed off and he shook his head in frustration.

"I just don't understand how we got here. I know it _feels_ like we've been walking for hours but I never imagined…" Tayin stopped talking again, clearly agitated. I knew the feeling.

"So what should we do?" Soda asked looking at each of us, "I mean how common is this place? It's gotta be almost the morning, should we wait here for someone to come check out the view?" This was directed at Tayin.

Tayin sighed, "Unfortunately that's probably not the best idea, for a couple of reasons. 1: It is really cold out, so we should keep moving so we minimize the risk of hypothermia. We have to be careful not to start to sweat, though. That would be very dangerous…

"And reason 2: it is the off season. It's the summer so most people choose to vacation in warm places with beaches. Not so much here."

"So what _do_ you suggest?" I asked getting impatient.

He opened his mouth to reply but before he had a chance I felt a rumbling beneath my feet. The ground was shakin' something fierce and it only seemed to get worse.

"Earthquake?" I heard Two-Bit ask.

"I think it's an… avalan…" Tayin was cut off as the trembling increased and we were all knocked off our feet and being drug towards the edge of the cliff by movin' snow. Before we reached the cliff I noticed the sun was risin' and thought, man that really is pretty…

A/N **Enter cliffhanger music** Well?? What do you think?

*I made the name up, as I did the name of the town they are staying in. They could exist for all I know. So if they do exist I do not own them, and if they don't I do!


	6. This Could Be The End Of Me

A/N Thank-you all for the reviews on my last chapter. I am glad that there is still interest in my story. I want to send a special thanks to **Marieann**: your review was just what I needed!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. Nope. Not even one bit. I do own Tayin… every little bit!

Chapter 6: This Could Be The End of Me

Two-Bit's POV

All I could feel was pain. All I could see was darkness. But wait! My eyes were closed. It took a lot of strength to open them and when I finally did I was still greeted by endless black. Where was I? What had happened? The last thing I could remember was the ground shakin' and then…

"Oh gawd." I barely recognized my own voice, it came out more like a whisper and it sounded like I had a cold.

"Soda!" I called, or tried to at least, "Dally! Tayin!" It was no use. Even if their ears had been right beside my mouth, which they very well could be for all I could see, they wouldn't have been able to hear me.

I realized that there was something… someone?… on top of me. And it was heavy. Real heavy. I was lucky to be breathin' but very worried about the guys.

Was it one of them on top of me? I hoped not, 'cause if it was they weren't movin' and even through my jacket I could tell whatever it was, was very cold.

I had managed to free my arms from my sides, or so I thought. One arm responded, the other did not. As much as it hurt to turn my head I had to look at my left arm and see why it wasn't movin'. Oh, that was probably why. My arm was bent at a very unnatural angle. It looked like an 'L'. So my arm, and who knows what else, was broken. But I was alive. For now.

Whatever was on top of me seemed to get heavier and it was gettin harder and harder to breath.

I reached up with my good arm and realized it was snow. I was covered in snow, and a lot of it. My first night of seeing snow and now I was covered in it. Needless to say I never wanted to see the stuff again. Ever again.

My head was in a pocket of the cold, white stuff otherwise I'd surely be dead.

The thought of just how closed in I was kicked my survival instincts into gear, as well as a feelin' of claustrophobia, which I had never before realized I had. I started to panic. All hope of finding a way out of here in a calm manner gone. There was no longer a rational bone in my body.

I screamed for help that wouldn't come. I thrashed around violently trying to free myself from the cold, white tomb that confined me. All I managed to do was knock some of the snow in the pocket onto my face. Into my mouth.

The cold hittin' my cheeks and tongue brought me out of my irrational state. It was no use. Even if I still had the use of my left arm I would still not have the strength to push the heavy snow off of me. I was gaspin' for breath. Tears that I would never admit to cryin' fell freely down my face. Freezin' as they went. A sob escaped my lips. This was it. I was gonna leave this world. Not in a gallant, tuff way either. But like a big, bawl baby.

I thought of the guys and knew that they probably hadn't survived. I was the lucky, or dependin' how you look at it, unlucky one.

I was exhausted. I decided I should sleep. Knowin' full well that I probably wouldn't wake up from this sleep. Coutin' on it. Better to go in my sleep than any other way this would end.

'I hope that Soda, Dally and Tayin didn't suffer,' was my last thought before I drifted into oblivion.

Darry's POV-Back at the hotel- Approx. 10 minutes ago…

It was still dark outside when I decided to open my eyes. I stood up and stretched my aching muscles. The bed was not comfortable, so why did I feel so rested? I guess I must have been even more tired than I thought.

There was no way I would be able to go back to sleep now. I was too excited for all of the things that we had planned on doing today.

I made my way to the kitchen as quietly as I could. I figured the guys must still be asleep or else I would have heard them goofing around.

I decided to check the fridge for leftover pizza, not expecting to find any. I assumed that between the seven of us we had finished it off, and even if there was any left the chances of anyone putting it in the fridge weren't very good. But I opened the door anyway and was very surprised to find it full of food.

There was a note on the top shelf so I picked it up and read it silently 'Thought you could use some food. Don't forget to have fun. –Bob'. I grinned. What a boss!

I started to pull out some breakfast items, eggs, bacon, orange juice… when I noticed the sunrise out the huge balcony window. What a lovely sight! I barely finished the thought when the ground began to tremble beneath my feet. It lasted only a few moments and never worsened so I wasn't too concerned. It did, however wake the guys.

"Darry!" I heard Ponyboy holler, panic in his voice. 'That's odd,' I thought, 'Why is he calling me when Soda is in there with him?' I placed the eggs, bacon and orange juice on the counter and was amazed that I had been able to hold onto them during the earthquake.

I made my way to Pony and Soda's room and heard shuffling from Two-Bit and Johnny's. Good, at least one of them was up.

I opened the door to my brothers' room and was surprised to see Ponyboy sitting up in bed, with no sign of Soda.

"It's ok, Ponyboy," I told him calmly, "Probably a mild earthquake but it's over. Where's Soda?"

"I dunno, I guess he's up already."

"Well get dressed. I'm making breakfast." I left his room and headed toward the living room. Only Steve was on the couch, so that meant Dally was unaccounted for too. I knew there was no one in the bathroom because the door was open and the light off when I walked by.

Johnny and Pony came into room at the same time. Steve was still snoring away; I was really surprised the earthquake hadn't woken him too.

"Is Two-Bit awake?" I asked.

Johnny shrugged, "I guess so. He wasn't in the room when I got up."

"Where are they?" I said aloud to no one in particular.

"Ugh," Steve moaned, so an earthquake doesn't wake him but my talking does, "Whadya want?"

"Do you know where Soda, Two-Bit and Dally are?" I asked.

Steve rolled over to face me, "What time is it?"

I rolled my eyes, what did that have to do with anything?

"Seven." Pony answered.

"Well they went for a walk but that was hours ago," Steve sat up and rubbed his eyes, "Like an hour and a half after ya'll went to bed."

I took a deep breath not wanting to lose my cool at Steve. Not yet anyway.

"And none of you have seen them since?"

They all shook their heads. I pinched the bridge of my nose. I felt a headache coming on, "What the hell were they doing leaving the room at that hour?"

"I dunno Darry. I guess they weren't tired." Steve said with hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Where are they now?" Pony's voice was shaking; his eyes were wide and full of fear.

"They probably just got lost." Steve stood up and began walking to the bathroom, "I'm gonna shower."

"But Darry," Pony looked at me with pleading eyes, "They've been gone for so long. It's a small town; they should be back now even if they had gotten lost.

"Calm down Pony." I put my hand on his shoulder, "I am going to make some breakfast. I am sure they will be here before we finish eating."

"And if they're not?"

"Then I will go look for them. Now go get changed, I want to head out right after breakfast. We have a busy day ahead of us." I went to the kitchen to start on breakfast, but first I had to find something for my increasingly pounding head.

"Don't worry Pony." I heard Johnny say as I left the room, "They wouldn't miss breakfast."

Johnny's POV

I was in my room changing into some warm clothes, thinkin' 'bout the day. It would be pretty tuff to go skiing and play hockey on ice like they do in the NHL. I wasn't too big into sports, but my dad was always watching them on TV.

I knew Ponyboy was worried about Soda and the guys but I wasn't. I knew that there was no one they could run into that they couldn't handle. Two-Bit even had his blade on him. How he managed to get it past security at the airport I don't know, but he did. I saw him handlin' it last night while they were playin' poker.

I don't think anyone here would want to pick a fight with three tough lookin' hoods anyway. I saw the looks we got from everyone in the town we'd come across so far. They were afraid of us, thought we would stir up trouble in town. Which, with those three off on their own somewhere, was a definite possibility.

A/N So what did you think? Please review and give me your thoughts!!


	7. Missing

A/N Some more great reviews on the last chapter. Thanks all!

**Steph: **Thank-you; I was really wondering what other people thought. I wanted the fear to be realistic and I think it turned out ok.

As promised I went back and made some minor changes to chapter 1. Nothing major. Feel free to check it out if you wish, but it is really not necessary.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. I do own this story and all other characters not from 'the Outsiders' book.

Chapter 7: Missing

Steve's POV

I finished showerin' and dressin' in time to hear Darry call out that breakfast was ready. I briefly wondered where we got food to make breakfast but didn't really care. All I knew was that I was hungry.

I was the first person to sit down and fill up my plate, which was a nice change. I took two heapin scoops of eggs, a load of bacon and three pieces of toast. It didn't take long for Ponyboy and Johnny to join me, and eventually Darry started to eat to.

Ponyboy kept glancin' at the door and it was gettin' on my nerves.

"They probably hooked up with some broads." I told him after about the twentieth time. A blush rose in both his and Johnny's cheeks.

"Steve," Darry shot me a warnin' look, "That's enough."

Ponyboy barely touched his food. Pushed it around on his plate mostly.

"Can I go look for them now, Darry?" he asked.

"No Pony. You and Johnny are staying here. Steve and I will go look once we've finished eating." I could hear a hint of anger in Darry's voice. He was probably fumin' 'cause the guys weren't back yet and he was wantin' to go skiin'.

Ponyboy sighed and went to go stand on the balcony for a smoke and Johnny joined him after a minute.

"Aw hell Darry," I said once the balcony door shut behind Johnny, "We both know they're just out havin' some fun. Let's go do what we planned and came back at lunch. No sense ruinin' our day lookin' for them." I admit I was mad too. I knew they'd asked me to go with them and I was wishin' I had. Even if Darry agreed with me I doubted I would have fun with Ponyboy mopin' around and Darry bein' all grumpy.

"I dunno Steve," he set down his fork and stared at me, "I was thinking the same thing, but I honestly thought that they'd be back by now. Plus, we haven't had a chance to go buy heavy winter gear yet so I imagine they are only wearing the jackets they were wearing here, which aren't very warm. If they've been out there all night…" he didn't finish the thought. He didn't have to.

Darry paused to consider our options for a moment before continuing, "I think we should take a quick look and ask around town. I just have a funny feeling…"

Until that point I was more annoyed than worried, but now I realized that he was right. Something could be wrong.

"OK." I told him, "Let's go."

Ponyboy's POV

It started to snow heavily before Darry and Steve were able to leave. I tried again to convince Darry that Johnny and I should help them look, but he said we had to stay at the hotel in case the other's returned while they were gone. Apparently neither Dally, Two-Bit nor Soda thought to take a key with them when they left so we had to stay so that they could get in the room.

"But Darry, they could just pick the lock." I pointed out. I was sure that somethin' was wrong and that they wouldn't be back before we were, but I didn't want to say it out loud.

"We don't want to cause trouble, Ponyboy." Darry reasoned, "Just stay here. We won't be long." He shot me one last look before they left, "I mean it Ponyboy!"

Time seemed to drag on after they left. We tried playing a few hands of cards to speed it up but that didn't work. Eventually I went to look out the balcony again. I didn't care that the heavy snow was startin' to seep through my clothes. I barely noticed.

Finally, about an hour after they left, I heard what sounded like the front door of our hotel room opening. It was snowin' so hard we hadn't even seen them comin'.

Johnny and I walked back into the room and it only took a second to realize they hadn't found the guys.

"Ponyboy Michael Curtis," Darry shouted the moment he saw me, "go change into some dry clothes. I swear you don't use your head!"

"You didn't see them Darry?"

He sighed, "No. No one we talked to has either." I swear I saw fear flash through his eyes for a brief second, but as quickly as it had appeared it was gone.

"Change." Darry reminded me, none to kindly, "Now." He was lookin' at both Johnny and I and the tone in his voice let no room for argument. Johnny and I headed to our respective rooms and Darry followed to his to change as well, as he and Steve were soaked too. Steve stayed to change in the living room.

The bad feelin' I had sense we discovered that Soda and the guys were gone intensified as I changed. I knew that as cold as standin' on the balcony had made me that whatever Soda, Dally and Two-Bit were feelin' was probably 100x worse.

"Please be ok." I whispered.

I heard Darry emerge from his room before Johnny and I had and I decided to listen to what he and Steve would talk about when we weren't there.

They were talkin' in quiet voices, but the walls were paper-thin so I could hear every word as clearly as if I were standin' right beside them.

"How long do you think it will last?" Steve asked.

"It's hard to say. They are forecasting three or four days. It could be longer." Darry answered, worry evident in his voice. What were they talkin' about?

"I think we need to call the police Darry." What! The police?

"Yea," Darry agreed, "I will call them now." I'd heard enough. I swung my bedroom door open angrily and stormed into the living room.

"What exactly are you keeping from us?" I spat.

Steve and Darry shared a look, I heard Johnny come up behind me.

Darry sighed but realized I wouldn't give up until I knew what was goin' on, "When we were in town we found out that there's a storm coming in. It's supposed to be really bad. It's going to get very cold and they are expecting a lot of snow. It's going to hit full force in a couple of hours, but it's already started. It's suppose to last a few days, but it could be as long as a week."

"So what are you sayin', Darry?" I was afraid to ask but knew I had to.

"We are going to need help looking for them, Ponyboy. I think that they are probably just lost." Liar. "But it's going to be hard to find them by ourselves. Even if there wasn't a storm in the mix: we don't know the area."

"Ok so what are we waiting for? Let's call the police."

Darry's POV

Two police officers arrived shortly after we called. Apparently the station isn't far from our hotel.

We told them everything we knew, which wasn't much. The looks the officers had shared while we were talking didn't go unnoticed and Steve was the first to call them on it.

"Is there something you're not tellin' us?"

"It's probably just coincidence," the older of the two officers, who had introduced himself as Officer Dwight, began, "but one of our fellow officer's younger brother went missing around the same time."

I took a minute to process the information before I spoke, "So are you saying that they were… taken?"

"No, no!" Officer Dwight assured, "His brother had just moved here and is unfamiliar with the area as well. It is most likely just a matter of getting lost.

"Normally, we wouldn't be able to help you until 24 hours after they went missing, especially taking into consideration their ages. However, given the circumstances we should probably start a search party before this storm gets any worse. I think the process of looking for Tayin is underway, we'll just make a call to the station and search for four instead of one." The younger officer, Officer Sullivan, was already in the kitchen on his radio apparently making the call.

"OK. So where should we start looking?" Ponyboy asked anxious to be doing something to help.

"The best thing for you all to do is wait." Officer Dwight told him. Ponyboy looked like he'd been slapped.

"I don't think so." I argued, "I want to be out there helping."

"Here's the situation. The storm is bad and only getting worse. None of you know your way around, but even if you did we would still have to have you wait. It's much too dangerous to be out in this weather no matter what the circumstance.

"I understand this is hard on you, but having you guys out there won't be of help to us or your friends. The chances of you getting lost yourselves are great and then we would just end up having to search for you as well.

"Believe me, we have it under control. We have the best-trained people out there looking right now. We are going to find them."

I wanted to argue, to tell him he was out of his mind if he honestly thought that I could just sit around and wait, but I knew he was right. The last thing I wanted was for anyone else to go missing. It was going to be torture sitting around doing nothing, but it made the most sense. Now I just had to convince the others.

A/N Sorry it took a while to post this. I have been trying to get it just right, but have decided to just post it as is. I know it's not the best chapter… kind of dull, but it had to happen. Please review!


	8. Hopeless

A/N Thanks all for the reviews. I hope that this chapter is to your liking.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. If I could, I certainly would.

Chapter 8: Hopeless

Dally's POV

I must be dead. The last thing that I could remember was the sunrise. The sunrise and fallin' down a mountain. And now numbness. I couldn't feel anythin'. Not my face, not my hands, not my feet. Nothing. I figure that if I were alive then surely I would be in pain after fallin' so far, but nothing. Therefore, I was dead.

But something didn't add up. Why, if I were dead, would I be numb? I couldn't be in heaven, not after the life I lived. But you would think if I were in hell that I would be in pain. Burnin' or somethin'. How odd.

I guess I must be alive. Alive, but freezing to death. That would also explain the numbness. I knew I had been unconscious, but for how long I had no idea.

I was thinkin' about the guys; Soda, Two-Bit and even Tayin. They must be dead. Hell, I should be dead. And would be soon. I didn't move. Wasn't sure if I could.

"Dally, Soda, Two-Bit!" Someone was yellin', it sounded like they were very far away. "Hello! Anybody!" I realized that it was Tayin.

"Here!" I tried to yell, it was difficult. My throat burned. I tried again, "I'm here!"

Soon I sensed someone standin' over me, somethin', snow? was bein' pushed off of me. And then I could see. It was bright. It burned my eyes, which I hadn't even realized I'd opened. It took a minute for them to adjust and then I could see Tayin.

He looked rough. He had a deep cut on his forehead that was bleedin' pretty bad, and his eyes were filled with worry.

"Dally." He sighed with relief, as he held out his hand to help me up, "You're alive!"

"Yea, you too." I hesitantly took his offered hand, and let him help me to my feet. I looked around; afraid of what condition I would find the others. The way he said 'you're alive' made me realize that Soda and Two-Bit were probably not.

He must have sensed what I was thinking and softly said, "I haven't found the others yet." I felt slightly more optimistic. Tayin and I had survived, so there was a chance that they had as well.

"What are you waitin' for then?" I asked my voice still weak as I stumbled around. My right foot was hurtin' somethin' awful when I put weight on it, but that was the least of my concerns, "We have to find them."

Tayin agreed and soon we were searchin' the area for any sign of the guys. Snow had started to fall heavily from the sky and the wind was blowin' it around makin' it harder and harder to see even a foot in front of ya. Not to mention causin' a deadly chill to creep up into my bones. It didn't take long, between the limited visibility and my already shakin' steps for my to lose my footin' and trip over a pile of snow.

"Damn it all!" I cursed loudly, fearing we would never find the guys at this rate.

"Dally, you ok?" I heard Tayin ask as he stumbled over to me. He hadn't, couldn't, see me fall but heard my shout of anger.

"Just dandy." I grouched and kicked some snow with my foot.

"What happened?" he asked when he finally found me layin' in the snow.

"Nothin', I just felt like taking a nap. Is that ok with you?" I snapped and felt a little bad about it. I mean, had he not found me I would have died and he was helpin' me look for the guys, "I just fell." I added in a kinder tone.

His eyes grew wide and I was afraid he was gonna pass out.

"Are you ok, Tayin?"

"Dal… Dally. Get up!" he shouted as extended his arm towards me pointin' at somethin'.

"What?" My brows bunched together, tryin' to figure out why he was so panicked.

"That isn't a pile of snow you're layin' on. I think it's one of the guys!"

"O… oh!" I stood up and almost fell over as a wave of dizziness hit me, but I managed to stay on my feet and started to help Tayin dig through the snow.

Sure enough after a couple of minutes of diggin' I saw an arm. It didn't take long after that to dig out the rest of Two-Bit, who was pale but breathing.

"Two-Bit!" Tayin and I shook him, "Come on man, open your eyes."

Two-Bit eventually stirred and moaned.

"Keith!" I yelled and saw his lips form a frown and his eyes snapped open in anger.

"What?!" he yelled, clearly frustrated.

"You're alive!" I could have cried, but didn't.

"What are you talkin' about, Dal?" he looked confused.

"Don't you remember what happened?" Tayin asked.

"I remember… oh yea… I'm alive!" he looked pleased, "And you're all alive too! I can't believe it. I don't think I've ever been so excited to see you, Dallas Winston!" he looked around then, shot Tayin a goofy look when his eyes passed him, and eventually his grin turned to a straight face. I'd never seen Two-Bit look so serious as he did when he turned to face me again, "Soda?" My heart stopped for a moment. Soda.

"We're still looking." Tayin assured as he gave a Two-Bit a quick once over, "Your arm looks broken." He noted, "Anything else feel outta place?"

Two-Bit looked over at his broken arm, and then back at us before shakin' his head, "No I'm fine honest. Let's find Soda." I couldn't agree more. We helped Two-Bit to his feet, careful of his broken arm, and began our search again.

I don't know whether it was snowin' or blowin' that had gotten worse but our visibility seemed to be even more diminished then it had been. We stuck close together, not wantin' to miss an inch.

"Soda!" I heard Tayin call out, and so Two-Bit and I started to do the same, pausin' after every shout to try to listen for a reply that never came.

I grew worried. I loved that kid like my own brother. I was never one to show sentiment but when it came down to it I would give my life to save his. Of course, I would never share this with anyone, couldn't jeopardize my image, but it was true all the same.

"Where are you man?" I asked, only loud enough for me to hear. Then, from as far as my eyesight could reach in this white out, I saw it. A huge rock that had somethin' green trapped beneath it. Green like the jacket that Soda was wearin'.

"Sodapop!" I shouted. Two-Bit and Tayin must have noticed my change in tone and saw the rock at the same time. We started to run towards it, them faster then me because of my damn foot.

When I got close enough I could see that he was still. Too still. And pale. Much too pale.

"He's dead." Two-Bit cried fallin' to his knees, "He's dead."

A/N Please review!


	9. Fight The Darkness

A/N Wow! The reviews on my last chapter were more then impressive! If I could get that many reviews on all of my chapters I would be the happiest person in all of fan fiction land! Thank-you all for your reviews!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own the Outsiders. Simple as that.

Chapter 9: Fight The Darkness

Two-Bit's POV

I couldn't believe that he was really gone. Soda was dead. My heart dropped to my stomach, I turned my head and threw up. I should be embarrassed, but I could really care less. My eyes filled with tears that I wiped away in anger. Greasers don't cry.

"He's not dead." Tayin exclaimed. Wait, what?

"He's not dead?" I repeated, not sure if I had heard him correctly.

"No, but he's in rough shape. We have to get this rock off of him." Tayin was standing the closest to Soda; I stood up from my kneelin' position and walked the last few steps to stand beside him.

I had looked at Soda briefly moments ago and was sure he was dead. He looked dead. Now that I knew he was alive I permitted myself to really look at him. A huge rock had landed on his right arm and part of his chest; his left leg was bent at an angle not unlike my arm. He was pale but, upon closer inspection, breathin'. Barely, but still breathin'. Still alive.

Dally had come close to us as well and was standin' on the other side of Tayin.

"We'll push the rock on the count of three," Tayin said before looking at Dally and I to make sure we were in position, we were. "One," I had my hands on the rock, "two," I braced myself by putting one leg behind my body, "three!"

I put all my weight into that push. All I could think of was my friend lying unconscious underneath this rock, bleedin' and broken. Fightin' for his life. Even though the rock weighed a lot more then anythin' I'd ever lifted in my life, I felt I could have moved it myself.

Seeing Soda lyin' there, thinkin' he was dead, findin' out he was alive, all of that gave me the strength, the adrenaline, to move even the biggest of mountains. The rock slammed to the ground beside our fallen friend.

I allowed myself to look at Soda again. He did not look well. Dally was now kneelin' beside him, callin' his name and shakin' him gently.

After several minutes I heard a moan. Soda. I knelt beside Dally.

"That's it buddy," I whispered, "Wake up." It took a while longer for him to open his eyes. He saw us all leanin' over him and gave a small grin.

"We're alive?" it sounded more like a question then a statement.

I laughed, relieved, he couldn't be too bad off if he were talkin', right? "Yep. We're alive all right. It'd take more then an avalanche to kill a bunch of tough greasers." I joked, "And Tayin to, apparently."

"Hey!" Tayin exclaimed in mock anger.

Soda started to laugh, but it was cut short when a look of sheer pain crossed his face, he tried, unsuccessfully, to hide it.

"Where does it hurt?" Tayin asked in concern.

"I'm fi…"

"You are not fine Sodapop Patrick Curtis!" Dally looked furious.

Soda sighed but relented, "It's just my chest. It kind of hurts to breathe."

I shared a look with Dally and Tayin. That couldn't be good.

The wind was howlin' sendin' huge flakes of snow in every which way and shivers down my spine. I knew none of us would last long in this weather, least of all Sodapop. "Let's get out of this wind." I suggested.

"Good idea." Tayin agreed. Dally and I gently helped Soda stand up and put his arms over of our shoulders. Before we started walking I remembered his leg.

"I think your left leg is broken," I told Soda, "Put most of your weight on Dally and I and whatever you can on your right one."

He shot me a grateful look and after a couple of steps turned his head to look at Dally, "You're limpin'." His voice was full of concern.

"No I'm not."

"Yes you are." I noticed, "You and Tayin should trade places." Tayin was walkin' just a few steps ahead tryin' to find somewhere for us to hide from the wind.

"Like hell." Dally cursed.

"C'mon Dal." Soda pleaded, "I don't want ya to hurt yourself more."

"I'm fine. Drop it." Dally was clearly pissed. He didn't like people feelin' bad for him. As soon as the words had left his mouth, Soda started to gasp for breath and doubled over in pain.

Dally and I stopped walking simultaneously, "Are you ok?" I asked.

Soda couldn't catch his breath.

"Tayin!" I called, he hadn't realized we'd stopped and I didn't want him getting too far ahead of us.

Tayin rushed back, "What's going on?"

"What does it look like?" Dally snapped. By now Soda's breathin' had somewhat regulated, but he looked worse rather then better.

Soda's POV

I could vaguely hear the guys talkin', but I knew that it was about me. We had begun walkin' again, well they were walkin', Tayin, who was the only one without any significant limb injuries, was carryin' me. If I hadn't been in so much pain I would have been embarrassed. As it was, I was in and out of consciousness. I had no idea what was goin' on.

The pain in my chest had spread to every inch of my body causin' it to spasm in a very unnatural way. I was powerless to stop it. I couldn't talk, I couldn't move and I was fightin' for every breath that passed my lips.

The guys voice's were becomin' more and more distorted with each passin' moment. I tried to fight the darkness. I really did…

A/N What did you think? As always, please review! Let's try to beat last chapter's record! (: You guys rock!!


	10. Somewhere Out There

A/N Sorry it took me so long to update, I had a hard time writing this chapter. Thank-you all again for the amazing reviews! I would like to personally thank each and every one of you, but I know how annoying that is, so I'll just a say one more giant THANK-YOU!! (: Keep up the great reviews, I love hearing what you guys think!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own the Outsiders. Not yet anyway. OK, I will never own the Outsiders... ): I will be content with owning Tayin, the other non-Outsider characters, and this plot line.

Chapter 10: Somewhere Out There

Ponyboy's POV

It had been two hours since the police officers left our hotel room. The longest, most pain filled two hours of my life. The clock hanging on the wall in the kitchen ticked loudly, remindin' me of the passin' time. The wind outside howled relentlessly, remindin' me that somewhere out there my brother and two of our friends were tryin' to survive.

_Tick, tock, tick, tock…_ I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't care what Darry said. I had to find Soda… the other's too, of course. I was worried about Two-Bit and even Dally, but it was Soda I was concerned about the most. He is my brother, my protector, the person who has been here for me my whole life, and even more so since mom and dad died. He likes spendin' time with me and doesn't think I'm just some tag along kid. I loved him the most. He wouldn't just sit around waitin' for the fuzz to find me. And neither would I.

I knew that Darry was in his room pacin' around; he didn't want to do it out here and put the rest of us on edge more so then we already were, and I was pretty sure that I could convince both Steve and Johnny to help me look.

"Steve," I said quietly, not wantin' to risk Darry hearin' me. Steve and Johnny were both starin' mindlessly at the TV.

"What?" he was annoyed not because I'd interrupted what he was watchin' on the TV; he wasn't really watchin' it, but that I'd interrupted him while he was deep in thought. Probably tryin' to figure out how to sneak out and save Soda too.

"Shh," I hissed, "Let's get out of here. We have to find the guys."

Johnny looked at me then, his eyes widened but he didn't say anythin'.

Steve looked amused, "Well Ponyboy for once we're on the same page. Let's get out of here before Superman comes outta his room."

We nearly smacked into each other as we ran to the door, Johnny was right behind us. Before we reached the handle I heard Darry's boomin' voice.

"Just where in the hell do you three think you're going?" We all stopped in our tracks.

"We're goin' to find them Darry." I said as I turned to face my oldest brother.

"No you're not."

"C'mon Darry," Steve urged, "I know you want to find them as bad as we do."

"Yes, I want them to be found. But I don't want to risk anyone else getting lost."

"Well I can't just sit here and do nothin'. I won't! Not while the guys are out there cold, lost and possibly even hurt! They could be hurt, Darry. Bad. And what, we're gonna just sit here all cozy, warm and safe?" I was livid, the more I thought of it the more I had to go find them.

"That is _exactly_ what we're going to do." He told me, "Well, that and call the police station and see if they've found anything." He walked to the phone and proceeded to dial the number that we had written on the hotel stationary pad.

He mumbled into the phone for a couple of minutes before hangin' it up and turnin' to us. He shook his head sadly, "No news yet. But they're still looking."

I started to tear up, Darry shifted awkwardly unsure of what to do and finally decided to come and give a hug. He squeezed me to his chest, a little bit too tight but it didn't matter. I closed my eyes and wished that it were Soda's arms wrapped around me tight.

Dally's POV

I could mask the pain limpin' on my sore foot caused, I could disguise the exhaustion I was feelin', I could put on a brave face and pretend that I wasn't scared shitless, but I couldn't stop my damn teeth from chatterin' or the shakes that had engulfed my whole body. I was cold and I couldn't hide it.

I wasn't the only one havin' a hard time but for some reason the thought didn't comfort me. Tayin and Two-Bit were shakin' and chatterin' as bad as I was. And Soda, well Soda was unconscious and in a bad way. Instead of freezin' like the rest of us he was sweatin' and instead of chatter' teeth he was mumblin' incoherently.

We had been walkin' in one direction for an hour easy, more likely two or three but we still hadn't found anywhere to hide from the unrelenting wind and snow. Two-Bit was the first of the three of us to collapse.

I was at his side instantly afraid he had passed out like Soda, but he looked up at me with a half ass grin.

"My knees gave out on me." Two-Bit laughed. Tayin, who was still packin' Sodapop, caught up to us after a minute.

I sighed and looked around us, nothin' had changed, all you could see was snow blowin' in the howlin' wind, and what looked like an entrance to a cave a ways to our left… wait a minute… a cave? I must be hallucinatin'. But, no, I looked back and there it was.

"Get up." I extended my hand to help Two-Bit; once he was up I started hobblin' towards what I hoped would be our salvation.

A/N Sorry it's so short. I will try to update the next chapter soon! Let me know what you think!


	11. Waitin'

A/N Sorry it took so long to update again… my mother in law was up for the week so we didn't have any real downtime and the weekend has been hectic too. Thanks for the reviews! On with the story!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I still do not own the Outsiders and, by the looks of things, never will.

Chapter 11: Waitin'

Two-Bit's POV

It had been dark for a few hours now but the darkness did not bring silence. Instead the sounds of howling wind seemed to intensify once the daylight had disappeared.

We, however, were silent. Not a word had been spoken once we'd entered the cave, save Soda's incoherent mumblings. I guess we were all lost in thought.

I sighed. Darry and the gang must be worried by now. Hopefully they'd started to search for us. I wasn't sure how much longer we'd last, and I was very sure we wouldn't be able to make it back to town without help, especially in this weather.

Although this cave provided us with some much needed protection from the intensifying wind and blowing snow, it in no way sheltered us from it completely, and it did nothing to help with the bitter cold.

"Was'sit?" Soda mumbled and I shared a look with Dally and Tayin: this particular mumbling sounded different but if it was better or worse I couldn't tell. I hoped that he would snap back to reality soon. I was worried about him.

Soda's POV

Everything burned. My feet, my toes, my arms, legs and hands, my face, my ears, even my hair seemed as though it were on fire. I had no idea what was going on around me, no clue as to where I was, and at times I even forgot who I was. I was afraid of losing myself.

'My name is Sodapop Patrick Curtis. My brothers are Darry and Ponyboy. Steve is my best bud. And who could forget Johnny, Two-Bit and Dally?' Throughout my silent chanting I swore I could hear Two-Bit and Dally talking every so often and a third voice that was familiar but I couldn't quite place. It was as though they were a million miles away and although I knew they were talking I couldn't tell what they were saying.

I tried to tell them to please stop the burning but it was like my brain couldn't communicate with my voice because nothing I said seemed to make any sense.

And where were Pony and Darry? Surely if they were here I'd hear their voices mingling with the other three. They would be begging me to open my eyes, to look at them and to say something they could understand.

But if they were here they weren't saying a word. The thought scared me and I fought to open my eyes. I had to see that my brothers were here, as well as Johnny and Steve. That this pain was all one bad dream, one horrible nightmare. That we were all happy, safe and sound at home and… oh no… we weren't at home. And this pain that engulfed me wasn't some horrible nightmare that I could simply open my eyes and make go away.

It all came crashing back to me then. We were in Alaska. The third voice belonged to Tayin. He, Dally, Two-Bit and I had been in an Avalanche. My eyes popped open and the mixture of concerned and relieved faces of Dally, Two-Bit and Tayin welcomed me.

Steve's POV

It was pitch black out now, although you really couldn't tell because the snow was blowing around so heavily it looked like a white out. There was still no word from the police. We had called them ourselves at least twice an hour to check on possible updates. There was never anything new.

The guys had been gone almost 24 hours now and I tried not to let the thought of how cold they must be enter my mind. I did my best to pretend that there was no danger and that they were safe and just out having a good time without me. If that were true I'd be mad which is much better suited to my personality than worry. The façade never did last long though. I had to fight to keep the anger on the surface. To not let the worry creep up to my face, to show through my eyes.

I didn't have a room to escape to so that I could properly concentrate on my anger, and everyone was in the living room now. Darry didn't trust that we wouldn't try to sneak out again, and he was right in doing so. The first chance I had I was going to sneak out and start searchin'.

We were all quiet so that helped some, but it was still unnerving to be sitting in a room with three other guys and having no one speak a word.

The ringing phone brought me out of my daze.

A/N Please review!


	12. Keep Holding On

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own… I realize that's probably very obvious

Chapter 12: Keep Holding On

Darry's POV

I was the first one to make it to the phone, and picked it up on before it even rang the second time.

"Hello." It had to be news on the guys. Who else would be calling?

"Hi is Charlie there?" What?

"What?" Who was Charlie?

"Char-lie… Is Charlie there?" the lady on the other end of the phone sounded annoyed, but it was nothing compared to the anguish I was feeling.

"Wrong number." What a world. I hung up the phone and turned to face the guys. There faces probably mimicked mine. They reflected disappointment, frustration and worry.

"Of all of the times to get a wrong number…" Steve mumbled. I completely agreed.

Dally's POV

"Soda." Two-Bit said softly.

"Wh-what's goin' on?" Soda's pupils were huge, and his eyes darted about frantically.

"You've been outta it man." I told him. He just moaned in reply and started to close his eyes as if to drift back to sleep.

"Oh no you don't!" Two-Bit scolded. Soda's eyes remained closed.

"Soda open your damn eyes!" I told him maybe a little bit too harshly.

"Dal I am so tired." He groaned.

"Just stay awake a little longer man. We want to know you're asleep and that you haven't passed out again." Tayin said soothingly.

"Ok fine." Soda slowly opened his eyes, but he didn't look too happy.

We were all exhausted but the fear of falling asleep and not waking up was more predominant than being sleepy. Eventually we decided to sleep in shifts. Two of us would sleep and the other two would watch over.

I let Two-Bit and Soda sleep first, since they looked the most worn. It didn't take long for them to drift off and almost immediately Tayin started talking to me quietly.

"So I think after we've all gotten some sleep we need to make a plan of action."

"Like what?"

"I dunno exactly." He shrugged. I could tell that he was lying, he had a plan and it mustn't be good if he was keeping it from me. I stared at him for a moment and finally he relented, "I'm thinking about trying to find my way back into town."

"Are you crazy? I assume you mean after the storm _we'll _all make out way back into town."

"No Dally, I mean me. Right away." I shook my head and was about to protest when he continued, "Look, physically I suffered the least, it would be better for you all to wait here until I find some help. We don't know how long the storm will last, it could let up right away but it may last for days." He looked behind us at Soda and Two-Bit for a minute before continuing in an even quieter tone, "I don't think we have days Dally."

"It could and probably will take days to get back into town anyway Tayin." The thought was horrifying but the truth.

"Which is exactly why I need to get moving, the sooner the better."

"And what, you'll just leave us here to die." I said this a little too loudly and had to look back to make sure I hadn't woken the others. Luckily they were still sleeping soundly.

"Of course not!" Tayin hissed, "I **will** find and send help. You guys just need to wait here and take care of each other."

"Sure, sure. And then you get back into town safe and sound and forget about us. Or forget how to get back to us. I can't let that happen, man. No we're comin' with you, whether you like it or not!"

"I would never do that Dally!" he looked offended that I'd even suggested it, "Look at Soda," he gestured behind us at the guys, I humoured him and looked, "Does he look like he is in any condition to travel?" Of course, he didn't, "And don't even suggest leaving him here by himself."

"I wasn't going to." I thought a moment, "Two-Bit can stay with him." I just met this guy, and even though I liked him I didn't like the thought of trusting Two-Bit, Soda's and my lives in his hands.

"No offence Dally but look at you. You limp when you walk, you would just slow me down." He was right, I knew he was right I didn't have to admit it though, there were other options.

"So Two-Bit goes and I stay with Soda."

Tayin looked thoughtful for a moment, "I think that you guys should stick together."

"Why?"

He sighed before quietly telling me what was really thinking; "If I don't make it back… they're probably looking for us by now anyway."

"So you get to be the hero then?"

"No I just think that no matter what happens the three of you should be together." Tayin confessed.

It was at that moment that I allowed myself to truly think about our situation. That I realized just how serious it really was. I always knew it wasn't good, but I never knew how grim. There was a very good chance we wouldn't make it out of this. The thought was terrifying. We were going to have to fight to survive.

A/N Ugh. Not the best or longest chapter I know, but it's been a while since I'd updated and I wanted to post something.


	13. We Can't Wait Much Longer

A/N A little bit of the last chapter in someone else's point of view. Not a lot, but I thought that I would warn you… I know how much I usually dislike those, but I promise it's not a lot.

Also, I have the next couple of chapters written already. I just have to put them from paper to computer, which won't take long. When I actually post them will depend entirely on you… so REVIEW! Your review could be the difference between the next chapter being posted in days rather than a week.

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't anything Disney or the Outsiders.

Chapter 13: We Can't Wait Much Longer

Two-Bit's POV

I had been dreamin' of Mickey Mouse and all things Disney. I dreamt that we went to Disneyland instead of Alaska and that we were all invited to live there. And we all lived happily ever after spendin' each wakin' moment with Mickey and friends eatin' the chocolatiest of chocolate cakes and drinkin' beer. Mickey liked beer! Who knew? What a lovely surprise!

"So Two-Bit goes and I stay with Soda." Mickey said… oh wait. That was Dally. Oh no! He was sadly mistaken I was never leavin' Disneyland! Not ever!

"I think that you guys should stick together." That was Tayin. What in the world were these guys talking about? And Tayin… oh right! Disneyland was just a dream. A wonderful, magical dream and I was trapped in a real life nightmare.

"Why?" Dally persisted.

Someone, presumably Tayin, sighed, "If I don't make it back… they're probably lookin' for us by now anyway."

"So you get to be the hero then?" Oh, Dally was some mad!

"No," Tayin sounded hurt that Dally would even suggest it. I still had no clue what was goin' on and wanted to find out before I let them know that I was awake, "I just think that no matter what happens the three of you should be together."

It was quiet for a few moments before Dally finally spoke, "So you really think you can make it back?"

"I think I have to. I won't stop until I do." Tayin promised.

It was then I clued in as to what was goin' on and I felt an anger I never realized I possessed brewing, "So when," I sat up, "Did you figure on fillin' the rest of us in?"

Tayin and Dally looked back at me, the surprise that I was awake clearly etched on both of their faces.

"I-uh- we…" Tayin started, I cut him off.

"Don't you think that this is something we should all four of us decide on? Just who the hell do you two think you are anyway?" By now my voice had reached its maximum volume level and I could feel Soda stir beside me, but I was too angry to stop, "We should stay here. All of us. They will find us! I know they will.

"What's goin' on?" Soda mumbled groggily.

"Tayin plans on leavin' our cave to try to find help." I informed him. He deserved to know after all. I turned back to the others, "So you were just goin' to sneak out while we were asleep?"

Dally's face was an unnatural shade of red, I guess he wasn't a fan of my unusual outburst, "Now hold on just a minute there Two-Bit. We were just talkin' through out best options. Nothing's officially decided yet. We were gonna talk to you two when ya'll woke up."

Great. Now I felt like an ass, "Oh," I grinned sheepishly, "Sorry."

"Uh, guys." Tayin was lookin' at Soda. Oops. In my anger I'd kinda forgotten just how rough of shape he was in. I peered in at my friend. He wasn't lookin' too hot. Sweat was pourin' down his face and pain was written all over it.

"Soda," Tayin spoke softly, "Why don'tcha get some more sleep?"

Soda nodded faintly and closed his eyes.

"I think you guys were right," I whispered and gestured to the other side of the cave with my head. I didn't want to disturb Soda any further, "But I want to make sure we've talked about every option and decide which one works best."

"We don't have time." Dally's voice was full of urgency and his gaze directed at Soda, "We need to act fast. We don't know how much longer…" his voice trailed off, but the thought didn't need to be finished. We all knew that time wasn't on our side. Actually, there wasn't a lot on our side right now.

"So is that the best plan then?" I asked, "The best option is for Tayin to go alone?"

"I think it is." Tayin looked thoughtful for a moment and then quickly changed to hope. Whether he was actually that confidant or he was puttin' on a brave face I haven't a clue.

"Let me come with you." I insisted, or tried to. I'd really taken a liking to the guy and hated the thought of his wandering around alone out there.

"You need to stay to help these two. Neither of them can walk very far and they'll need someone who can move around easily.

"Don't talk about me like I'm not here." Dally snapped, "And I get around just fine."

I ignored him and told Tayin, "I guess you're right."

"Screw you guys." Dally sulked and tried, unsuccessfully, to not limp back to where Soda was sleeping. He lay down next to Soda and closed his eyes.

"You should get some sleep too." I told Tayin. He looked like he was about to protest but thought better of it. Soon I was the only one awake. I went through more options in my head but the only one that seemed logical was their, in my opinion, horribly thought out plan.

Soda started tossin' and turnin' restlessly and I decided to try to soothe him by cooling him down. I put my hand in some snow until it was good and cold and then placed my hand on Soda's fevered forehead, hoping to ease some of his discomfort.

Pony's POV

We started to play poker, hopin' to distract ourselves somewhat.

After we'd played a couple of hands there was a knock on the door. Darry gave us a look that said, 'stay here' and made his way to answer it.

There was a man in a police uniform on the other side of the door. He wasn't one of the officers from earlier. He appeared to be almost Darry's age. My heart dropped to my stomach. If they'd been found alive the police would have called, if not well…

"Darrel Curtis Jr.?" he asked, Darry nodded, not permitting himself to speak, "My name is Jace Marchant, I just wanted to stop by and assure you that we have all our guys lookin' for your friends and our brother's. I know how hard this is and…"

Darry cut him off, and I let out a breath I hadn't realized I was holdin', "They aren't found yet, then?" Officer Marchant shook his head and relief washed through me.

I think Officer Marchant clued in then as to the expressions on our faces and he immediately apologized, "I should have started with that… I just wanted to tell you face to face that we won't give up."

"Please come in." Darry offered, stepping aside and gesturing to us at the table.

"I should really get back…" Officer Marchant looked torn.

"Wait a minute," I just remembered, "You said 'our brothers'. You are the officer whose brother is missing too."

Officer nodded and stepped inside, "Yes. My brother, Tayin is sixteen and just moved here to live with me. He hasn't had the easiest time as of late, and I guess he must have had trouble sleeping and went for a walk. It wouldn't be the first time, but he's always come back." The worry was etched across the officer's face. He looked about Darry's age and had black hair and warm, brown eyes.

He shook his head, pulled out a picture from his wallet and passed it around. The teen in the photo very much resembled Officer Marchant, but had midnight blue eyes instead of brown. Otherwise he'd be a spitting image, and this photo could very easily been mistaken for a younger picture of himself.

"I know it is silly, but just in case you see him." He swallowed hard, and seemed to be fighting back tears.

"Of course." Darry said. We handed him back the photo and he looked at it a moment before putting it back in his wallet.

He nodded at us and made his way towards the door. Once he reached it he turned around to face us, "Don't give up hope. We'll find them. We won't stop until we do. I promise." And without another word he was gone.

Soda's POV

My eyes opened slowly and I almost felt rested. Everyone else was already awake and just sitting quietly a few feet from where I was.

I didn't know how long I had slept, but the storm was still raging outside and it seemed to be dark out.

I sat up and groaned, man I was sore. The noise and my sudden movement caused the guys to turn around and face me.

"How are you feeling?" Tayin asked.

"Better." I told him, it wasn't quite a lie.

They told me that Tayin would be leaving to try and find help when it got light out. I didn't think it was a good idea, but they assured me it was the only plan that made sense. Who was I to argue?

"So you live with your brother?" I asked Tayin who nodded.

"I live with my brothers too." I told him about my parents and saw something, possibly understanding, flash through his eyes.

After I finished Tayin started talking, "My brother Jace is 21. We'd always been close, but about two years ago he moved here because he got a great opportunity to join the police station. Better then he'd been offered anywhere else.

"I was also really close to my dad. He's one of those guys that can just make you laugh for no reason. And always very… understanding. I don't know if that's the right word. Anyway, I took it hard when Jace moved away. I was 14 and really missed my big brother figure.

"My dad did his best to fill the role, but he was busy and I eventually rebelled. Befriended the wrong people… A year ago, I was 15, I was at a party with some of these new friends and they were drinking. I had never drank before, but figured it was as good a time as any to start, and it didn't take me long to feel the effects.

"Some of these new friends of mine, who were a few years older than me, got it in their heads that they wanted to drive to another party a couple of blocks away. Of course they'd been drinking to and doing who knows what else and I wouldn't get in the vehicle. I told them that they shouldn't be driving, and they just laughed. I tried to take away the keys, and they didn't take to kindly to that. We fought, I lost, they left."

Tayin's eyes clouded over, but he continued, "I called my dad to come and pick me up. He seemed pleased that I'd called him, and even told me that he didn't mind if I had a few drinks as long as I was responsible about it.

"We rounded a corner and I saw a flash of light, and then we crashed into something and then we were rolling. I remember blinding pain, the vehicle landing on the roof so we were hanging upside down, and my dad… and my dad was pinned against the steering wheel. He was bleeding badly and in and out of consciousness. After what seemed like hours, but was really only minutes, he passed away. It took an hour for help to arrive and another after that to get us out.

"We were hit by the guys from the party. They'd forgotten something and were going back to get it. None of them even had a scratch. I was in the hospital for five months, not that it even came close to the pain of losing my dad. My mom blamed me. If I hadn't called him to come and get me he'd still be alive. She resented me, and told me every day that it should've been me that died instead of him; that I'd killed my dad.

"She remarried six months ago to Gerald Bloomer. He expressed himself not with words, but with violence. At first it was only me he'd hit, but I was too afraid he'd turn on her if I left, so I stayed. Eventually he did start on her too. Jace was here and had no clue. I never let on what was happening. I thought I could protect her.

"Three weeks ago, in a drunken rage, he proved me wrong. She was in a comma for two days before she passed. I was released from the hospital the same day I came here to live with Jace." Tayin hadn't looked at any of us while he told his story. His eyes were fixed on the ground. He looked up now, at each of us. Nobody knew what to say. It was only moments later that the sunlight melted the darkness away. Or so it appeared. It was still storming too hard to know for sure.

Tayin gave a half ass grin, "I guess that's my cue."

A/N Don't forget to review!!


	14. Slowly Going Crazy Am I

A/N Thank-you for all of the positive reviews! There will be some new POV's throughout the rest of the story because, well because I said so. I will try to make sure that there is at least one of the Outsider characters POV's in those chapters.

abc- I am sorry for your loss. Please know that I was in no way trying to offend anyone by some of the content from my last chapter. I understand that in most families that would be the case, but unfortunately not every family is that way. Tayin and Jace's mom is not your typical 'mother figure'... Tayin had mentioned that he was close to his father and brother but notice said nothing about how close he was to their mom. She was never supportive or loving to either of her childern, and actually regreted having them in the first place. It is sad to know that these people exist, but they do. She saw herself as the only victim of her husband dying, and never really cared that she wasn' the only one hurting. She was blinded by her pain, and felt the need to blame someone and Tayin was the only one there. Again, I didn't mean to cause hurt to anyone, I was just telling Tayin's story. I hope that you continue to read my story if you otherwise had been enjoying it. Thank-you.

Disclaimer: Outsiders = S.E Hinton's, I know.

Chapter 14: Slowly Going Crazy Am I

Tayin's POV – right after leaving the cave

After stepping out of the mouth of the cave I walked a few steps and looked back. All I could see was white flying all around me. Just as I thought, it would be impossible for anyone to see the cave unless they were hugging the mountain. I followed what was left of my tracks; even only having taken them seconds ago they were now almost completely covered by snow.

I found the mouth of the cave again after a few minutes of searching and realized just how hidden it really was. We much have been sitting at just the exact one right angle to have seen it in the first place. I could tell that even without the storm it would be impossible to find, and very easy to walk by slowly and not even notice it if you were staring right at it.

I needed to do something to draw attention to it in case I didn't make it; I wanted them to be found. And even if I did find help I would need something to help me find my way back.

I didn't have anything reflective on me… perhaps something bright? I pulled off my jacket, almost losing it in the wind in the process; I then peeled off my red sweater and managed to tie it to some sort of branch sticking near the mouth of the cave. Teeth chattering I threw my coat back on and hoped that the sweater would hold.

Soda's POV

I was glad that my fever had finally seemed to have broken, and for a while I was even feeling not too horrible. Now I was honestly feeling worse. I would never tell that to the guys though.

My head felt like it was going to explode, my stomach like it was being squeezed or stabbed… scratch that squeezed and stabbed. But the worst was also the hardest to hide, my chest felt as though it was going to collapse. Each breath was harder and more painful to take then the last.

I was glad to be alert and of course conscious and I knew the guys were as well, but in some ways it would be easier if I were still out of it.

Tayin had been gone for a while now, exactly how long I had no idea. If this had been any other time or place I would be itching to be something, and at this point it could probably be almost anything. As it was the pain had taken precedence over boredom.

"Soda are you ok?" Dally asked, I guess I wasn't doing as good a job of hiding it as I had hoped.

"I'm fine." I lied through my teeth. Through my tightly clenched teeth. God, speaking hurt more then breathing.

"You aren't a very good liar." Two-Bit noted.

I tried to laugh in hopes of assuring them I was fine, which was so obviously not the case, but it came out more like a moan. Not a good thing to do, blinding pain shot from my side all the way up through my left arm catching me off guard. My somewhat controlled breathing had now become what it should have been all along. Gasping for a breath that I couldn't catch, I mentally cursed myself for being so weak that I allowed the little bit of control I had to slip away.

The guy's eyes were panicked but it was nothing compared to the anxiety I was feeling. It was like I was 100 feet below the surface holding my breath so as not to suck in water. Trying for oxygen was futile because there was none. I was swimming, kicking and fighting towards the surface but instead of making progress I was just sinking further and into the ice cold, endless, black depth.

Dally's POV

Soda was out again. He was breathing although it was laboured. He seemed to be in less pain when he was unconscious and I hoped that was the case. I pretended he was just sleeping. I had never in my life felt more helpless; there was nothing we could do but wait for Tayin to come back with help.

Two-Bit and I tried to figure out how long he had been gone, we figured about four hours, maybe even six, but for all we knew it could have been less than an hour.

Being in this cave did nothing but play mind games on a guy. I kept thinking I heard someone hollering only to realize it was the wind howling. And the shadows that danced on the walls of the cave sometimes resembled people. I wondered what it was like to go crazy. Could boredom really cause someone to lose their mind? Could people really be bored to death? If they could surely it wouldn't be long for me.

How I managed to be bored I had no clue. The worry I felt for the three of us, and even Tayin, was very unlike me. I tried to put on my 'I don't really care' face in the beginning of it all, but had slipped so many times it didn't even really matter anymore.

So Dallas Winston was a softie deep down. So what? I'd skin them alive if we made it out of here if they even so much as thought of how I've been acting.

The good thing was they all knew it and hadn't exactly been themselves either. Who knew Two-Bit could be serious? No, I had a feeling that was happens when you're lost, get in an avalanche and seek shelter in a cave stays when you're lost, get in an avalanche and seek shelter in a cave. No one else would have a clue and these guys would either forget or have enough sense to never talk about it. Ever.

Two-Bit had decided to try to get a little more sleep and told me to wake him if I needed anything. I used some very colourful language in response, but he had just grinned at me. Now that's he'd been asleep for a while I felt something foreign creep up into my stomach. I realized it must be guilt. Wow. I had a conscious! Who knew? Nah, I must really be going crazy.


	15. Pain

A/N Thanks again for the great reviews everyone!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the Outsiders. I swear.

Chapter 15: Pain

Steve's POV

I wanted to believe Officer Marchant. He said that they wouldn't give up until they found them. I couldn't help but fear that he was really only looking for his brother. That they all were. They could care less about a bunch of punk teenaged tourists who had gotten lost. For all we knew it happened all of the time.

I figured that if they found his brother first that would be the end of the search. They would pretend that they were still looking until a decent amount of time had passed. Then they would come here and fake sympathy and sadness as they tell us too much time had passed. That there was no hope.

Maybe they wouldn't even pretend to look at all. Maybe they would just laugh in our faces and say, '_You_ go find them.'

Or maybe they had already found them and decided to leave them where they were. That a bunch of out of town, up to no good, troublemaking greasers were more trouble then they were worth.

Who would believe us? The government would even be in on it, and somehow they would make it look like they'd never even existed. They'd call us crazy and lock us away.

Or maybe I had too much time on my hands.

Pony and Johnny had gone to sleep hours ago on Darry's order. Ponyboy had protested, but let's face it, what Darry says goes. He stirred restlessly but was still managing to stay asleep. Johnny was sleeping soundly.

Darry, on the other hand, still had a trust issue and although he looked dead on his feet he stayed awake.

I felt my own eyes start to get heavy but fought the exhaustion. I knew it would only be a matter of time before one of us gave in against our will and I vowed to use everything in my power to not have it be me. I had to get out of here. Too much time had passed waiting for news that never came.

Eventually my internal battle came to an end and before I even realized what was happening I was forced into a dreamless sleep.

Darry's POV

At last Steve was snoring softly. At first I was afraid that he was pretending but I watched long enough to convince myself that even Steve couldn't fake sleep _that _well.

I was stubborn and still very much aware that any opportunity that these three had they would be out of here. I was afraid to even blink.

I used this time to go to the bathroom and breathed a sigh of relief that they were all still here when I got out.

I then decided to try to sleep while it was safe and did so. I just did it in front of the door. Our hotel room was too high for them to shimmy down the patio or out one of the windows, and I was pretty sure that they were smart enough to not even try.

Tayin's POV

I felt like a walking snowman. The blowing snow was actually clinging to me, or seemed to be. I had icicles frozen to my eyelashes making it increasingly difficult to see.

I decided to somewhat follow my own advice and walked beside the edge of the mountain. I'd be a goner if there was another avalanche, but at least this way I knew I was making some sort of progress. Even if I was heading in the wrong direction from Sparing there had to be another town nearby.

My boots were getting heavier and heavier with every step but I wouldn't let it slow me down.

I kept picturing the guys back at the cave. I was their only hope. Even if there was a search party I had serious doubts they would think to look all the way out here.

They were probably mainly searching the forest and any hope of finding our tracks was long gone.

The past few miles seemed almost like an incline and I hoped that I had found an easier way up the mountain. I knew that there was some sort of man-made path down it so that tourists could enjoy a hike. If this wasn't it then I must be delusional.

Soda's POV

Pain. Always pain. Endless pain. Worse then a broken heart. Worse then losing your parents, I never thought there would be pain in my life worse then the death of a loved one. And yet this pain, this pain was losing everyone in your life you cared about at the same time, drowning in the ocean only to be born again drowning… an endless cycle of pain.

I made no noises this time. I knew better. Making noise hurt that much more and it was probably harder on the guys hearing me moaning in pain. And probably annoying too. I'd imagine it would get annoying really fast.

So instead I suffered in silence, and hoped for something, anything, to take the pain away. This pain that is worse then death.

A/N I know that it's short, but I will hopefully have the next chapter up soon. Please review!!


	16. Hanging By a Moment

A/N Thank-you all my loyal reviewers! Bobbie3926, Bumlets girl, Steph36, x0allisonqt0x, CrazyEdwardFan, Jacovi and anyone I might have missed!

Frenchie101- thank-you as well for your review. I definitely like to know what people are thinking and any questions/concerns/comments that they might have. I already had this chapter written when I read your review… I agree that Johnny does not seem himself, and I had only a brief section in one of the earlier chapters that was actually in his POV. Hopefully this chapter will answer some of your concerns and if he still seems off please let me know! Thanks again!

Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I wish I owned the Outsiders but I don't. I do own Tayin, Jace and the other unrecognizable people in this story, and am quite proud of them. Yea me!

Chapter 16: Hanging By a Moment

Johnny's POV

I woke up in a state of unawareness. I forgot where I was; my surroundings were unfamiliar and I tensed immediately out of habit. At home I had to be on guard from the moment I woke up until I either left the house or went to bed. And when I went to bed I put a chair underneath the doorknob and kept a baseball bat under my bed, just in case. I hated living in fear but had been doing it for so long that it had become a part of who I was.

It didn't take me long to notice Ponyboy sleeping not far from me, Steve sleeping in a chair across the room and Darry stretched out in front of the door, also asleep. I remembered then where I was, that I was safe, and at the same time presented with a whole new level of fear.

Dally, Sodapop and Two-Bit were missing for, I glanced at the clock that was on the wall across the room, almost 52 hours now. The storm was raging on outside and, according to the news, was going to last longer then they'd originally anticipated. They were forecasting it to last another week and only intensify come morning. How it could possibly get worse, I hadn't a clue.

I never thought I'd miss home so much. Not my own home, mind you, but the Curtis' living room. All of us hanging out and the biggest debate was teams for football.

Now I had an internal conflict that measured much higher on the scale then any other decision I had to make in the past. Do I wake Pony and Steve so that we could try to sneak out while Darry was still asleep, or do I not? I was itching to get out there and start searching for the guys, but at the same time I feared that we would just get lost ourselves. I especially worried about Ponyboy if he were out there.

He was going nuts worrying about Soda, and the others of course, and if he got out there I had a feeling he wouldn't be thinking much about his own safety.

I was worried about the guys too. I knew they were all tough, especially Dally, but they were only tough when it came to what they knew. Anyone can be tough when they are in their own element but throw them in a situation that they're unprepared for and they would be just as vulnerable as everybody else.

I kept my concerns to myself and put on the brave face that I knew so well. I had to be strong and encouraging amidst my fears. I had to be supportive for the others; a shoulder to cry on, an ear to listen to the worries. Ponyboy and Darry were missing their brother, they'd already lost their parents they couldn't loose Soda too. And Steve was missing his best bud. Steve didn't have a lot of consistency in his life; only the gang, especially Soda. So I pushed my fears and doubts aside and vowed only to speak words of confidence that I didn't even believe. It seemed to help, if only a little.

Looking around at the guys all sleeping in various stages of obvious discomfort I felt a pang of guilt. I had slept better the last couple of hours then I had in a long time. It probably had to do with the fact that, although I was worried out of my mind, I felt safe. I didn't have to worry about violence finding its way into my bedroom while I rested. It was a luxury I wasn't use to. Something I only otherwise had at the Curtis' house.

I was pulled out of my thoughts by the sound of someone yawning, if it was Steve or Pony and they decided to sneak out I would of course join them. Hopefully I could not only help search but keep an eye on these two as well.

"Morning Johnny." It was Darry. I gave him a half smile and at the same time assessed how he was looking. The dark circles under his eyes were more predominant then earlier even though he had just woken up and he looked older then anyone his age should.

He stood up, stretched and seemed to almost relax for a moment. Grateful, I imagine, that the three of us were still here, safe and, at the moment, sound.

If Steve or Pony has woken up before him I had no doubt that we would've found a way out of here even with Darry in front of the door. I think Darry was thinking the same thing, because I saw the briefest smile pass his lips when he glanced at Pony and then Steve.

Dally's POV

Now, normally I dreamt of ladies of all shapes and sizes. It didn't matter if I was drunk, sober, or had eaten before I had gone to bed. It was ladies or nothing.

This was my first nightmare. It started out pleasant enough for a dream with no ladies, but it wasn't long before it took an unpleasant turn… we'd were playing poker; Tayin, Soda, Two-Bit, Mickey Mouse and I, Two-Bit must be rubbing off on me or something… anyway, I had hit a Royal Flush on the river and Mickey must have had something good because he went all in. I called, no hesitation, the others had folded before the flop, and I was full of confidence but before we could flip over our cards and I could gloat over my unbeatable hand the floor started to crumble from beneath us and we began to fall… we were in an avalanche.

We were all alive, save poor Mickey Mouse, and trapped in a cave. Then, out of the blue, Tayin died. One moment he was talking with the rest of us, the next he was dead, and then another avalanche hit and our only exit from the cave collapsed and we were trapped.

I woke up in a sweat and nearly shed tears of joy upon seeing the cave entrance still exposing us to the elements.

"Dally?" Two-Bit sounded apprehensive. Crap, I was hoping he hadn't noticed. I really hoped that I hadn't screamed in my sleep.

"What?" I gave him a bored look.

"Nothin', just thought I heard someone up's all."

"Yea, how's Soda?" I was actually curious, but it was a good way to change the topic too. I glanced at my friend who was still unconscious beside me. He looked like he had earlier. Not any better, but at least not visibly worse.

"The same." Two-Bit confirmed.

"Well, I'm up now," no way I was going back to sleep anytime soon. The dream had seemed so real, "Get some sleep. I'll keep an eye on him." Two-Bit didn't even hesitate to lie down and was asleep moments later. I hoped that his dreams weren't plagued with anything but happiness.

Tayin's POV

Darkness had once again fallen, or so it appeared. Where it was once hard to see it was now impossible. But I walked on not missing a beat; relying solely on my hand on the mountain to guide me forward, and hopefully not off of the edge.

The vicious wind whipped at my exposed face relentlessly, but I cold no longer feel it. My whole body had gone from burning to completely numb seconds after stepping out of the cave. I wasn't sure which was worse.

Frost bite was no longer a possibility, but a certainty. The question now was how bad it was and where was it? I didn't want to know. I tried not to let the thought of lost fingers, toes and, I shuddered, even limbs enter my mind. None of that mattered as much as lives did; as four lives did.

By now exhaustion had come and gone and then come and gone again. I had sudden bursts of energy that were coming fewer and further between. They use to last hours, but had turned into minutes, turned to seconds, and now it had been so long that I was sure there would be no more. There was no more adrenaline, no more energy, only numbness and hope. What would happen when the hope ran out?

A/N Thank-you all for reading! That is the last of my pre-written work so it could be a while until my next update but I usually respond to motivation in the form of reviews, hint-hint. But seriously though, I love to hear what you guys think. (:


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